Ministry intensifies search for missing Ghanaian diplomat in SA

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The Foreign Affairs Ministry has intensified efforts to find a missing Ghanaian diplomat in the South Africa.

The diplomat, Charlotte Nana Yaa Nikoi was last seen on March 21 as she walked on the Table Mountain in Cape Town on Human Rights Day.

A rescue team in South Africa said the Ghanaian who is also a director of UNICEF did not disappear on the tour site.But Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Foreign Affairs Minister said Ghana is closely monitoring the situation and is hopeful the government of South Africa will lead the efforts to unravel the truth behind the diplomat’s disappearance.

She told Citi News, “Just last week the Senior Minister and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs were in South Africa and they sought audience with the South African President, Jacob Zuma and he has taken the matter up… He has made a statement on it asking the security services of South Africa to quickly work on this matter and find a resolution to it”

“It has received attention at the very high level. Our president [Akufo-Addo] will soon be speaking to the President of South Africa. We are watching carefully and keeping an eye on what is happening. A human being cannot disappear just like that. Something happened and we need to get to the bottom of this,” she added.

A spokesperson for the South African Wilderness Search and Rescue team, Johan Marais is reported to have said that despite volunteers working with Skymed aerial rescue services to search the mountain, there was no sign of Yaa Nikoi.

“We are 95% sure that she is not in the area we went to search for her. Which means she came off the mountain and was either taken away or went away from that area,” Marais said.

At the time of her disappearance, Nikoi wore light-blue shorts, a cream, black and brown cardigan, a sleeveless black top, brown sneakers, and oval-shaped glasses.